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Want to Learn a New Language?

Last night at dinner, my dad shared with me that learning Spanish has been on his bucket list for years. For one reason or another, he hasn’t been successful at checking that off his list.

He then asked me about my own pursuits of learning other languages. Knowing that I formally studied Spanish, he expected me to talk about how I habla’d espanol, pero that wasn’t the case. I haven’t been learning much Spanish recently, although I feel more interested than ever in learning other languages. This learning, however, doesn’t refer so much to fulfilling a desire to fluently speak another language as it does to understanding some of the spiritual ideas conveyed in day-to-day greetings and communication.

For example, Alhamdulillah is a common Arabic greeting which roughly means, “Praise to God.” Similarly, Namaste, a Hindi salutation, carries with it a spiritual essence. It has been translated to mean, “I bow to you,” “I am your humble servant,” and even, “The Divinity in me acknowledges the Divinity in you.” It is no wonder then, that Arabic and Hindi cultures ground themselves much more firmly in faith than traditional Western culture where our greeting is a mere “Hello” with no spiritual significance attached to it.

You might be thinking, “But it’s just a word,” and that’s just the type of attitude that can bring serious harm to yourself and other people. Everything we say and do counts, and everything we think counts too. Our thoughts ripple out into the world, and the more we are thinking positive, warm, loving, even Divine thoughts, the more those thoughts will reflect themselves in our physical reality. If you ever wondered why a particular person carries with them such a powerful, peaceful energy, you can rest assured that the person likely spends much time steeped in prayer or meditation.

If we elevate our daily greetings to the spiritual level of the Arabic and Hindi culture, we might soon enough free ourselves from materialist traps that are all too common in the West, and we’ll slowly but surely remember and re-connect with the Spirit that flows in and through all of us.

Every time you see a person, it’s an opportunity to perceive just another human being, or…you can perceive a Spiritual Being, a Divine Spark manifest in your Present Moment. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful way to shift your consciousness to experience something much greater? As William Blake said, “I question not my corporeal eye any more than I would question a window concerning sight. I look through it and not with it.” There is more to seeing than simply the physical, and if elevate our language, we may more easily connect with the unseen.

Before we scurry about trying to learn all the languages in the world, maybe we can just focus on a few key words, and even learn our own language a bit better. For example, the word Reverence – a powerful word. Reverence for Life – a powerful idea that if fully understood might revolutionize your every waking moment, for the best of course 😉

Yesterday I listened to a speech titled, Acres of Diamonds, and it essentially suggests that we are all currently standing in our very own acres of diamonds. We need not look anywhere else but Here & Now and in the current work we are doing to discover a gold mine of riches, both physical and spiritual. The very best is always right in front of us, if we only open to the possibility and begin looking. Before you venture away to far off lands or far off languages, consider starting at home, where you are now. 🙂